New Football Stadium: GSD Says Government “Unaware of Key Financial Information”
The GSD has said that, even though the Government agreed to commit substantial savers’ monies towards the £100M new Victoria Stadium project “it has not seen a copy of the financial feasibility report which underpins the viability of the project.” The party adds that the Government also wasn’t aware of the costs of a 5000 or 8000-seater stadium when it took its decision and has not had any discussions with the GFA as to whether UEFA rules would allow the building of a smaller stadium. Additionally, the party says that the Minister for the Savings Bank, Sir Joe Bossano, “confirmed he has had no role in approving the residential or commercial configuration of the new stadium project which again is key to whether the scheme is profitable.”
The party said: “This new and emerging information is quite staggering given the fanfare with which the Government announced their decision to commit savers funds to this massive project and their duty to ensure the scheme that they have committed savers monies to works.”
Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi said: “This project was announced with huge fanfare in November. The Government has been assuring the public that the project is a good investment and financially viable but on what basis can they say so if they haven’t even seen a copy of the financial feasibility report? It’s obvious from the last parliamentary session that the Government is unsighted on the detail and worse still is unwilling to involve itself in the detail even though they have been prepared to make a massive financial commitment. This is absolutely unbelievable and shows that the approach to investment though the so-called National Economic Plan is not only opaque but without any great planning. That the Government is willing to enter into these big commitments without first seeing the relevant financial due diligence itself which affects whether the project would be a success is staggering. This is quite basic. If he didn’t see the financial feasibility report how was he in a position to take this decision? It appears to have been taken without sight by the Government of key financial reports.
“It appears simply that the Government decided that this announcement would play out well in electoral terms. It was a cheap electioneering stunt with glossy pictures and videos in overdrive but without any great financial planning. This was a short-term electoral approach which was reckless with necessary due diligence. The least you would have expected is for the Government to ensure that it takes decisions having first looked at and collated all information.”
